Young Love
by LoversLove
Summary: Craig and Emma's would be love story. Goes back to when the chaos started, The 80's dance. Creg/Emma/Sean. Please review.
1. Chapter 1

Craig heaved loudly. He had messed up, again. Dammit.

Tonight, he risked suspension and groundation all for the girl he liked. But, as mentioned before, he messed it up. She had snuck out, with her best friend, to the senior dance.

A dance that she, a pretty junior, didn't belong in.

But I had invited them both, so I guess they just decided to take a chance. Dressed in retro glam, they were hiding behind the shrubs outside of school, trying to avoid all possible attention. Getting caught was not an option for the two "good" girls.

I helped them get it. I opened the back door and together, we all crawled our way to the dance, almost getting caught again by Raditch. She was right next to me then, I should have done something. But my nerves seemed to get the best of me, so I focused on the mission. Not getting caught.

Once in the dance, we separated. She staid with her friend, dancing the night away, as I lurked in the back of the dance, waiting for the precise moment to strike. And there it was. A slow song. The perfect slow song.

As I walked over, I felt my stomach flip over on itself. My face was flushed, my mouth was dry, and there she was. With her cute little face smiling up at me. Some how I found the courage to spoke.

The conversation was pointless, just small talk till I got up my nerve to ask her. Ask her what I wanted to do since we got there. And then I felt it, the words fumble out of my mouth.

"Will you dance with me," My heart stopped, I looked down, and there was another face there, a way out, "Manny."

Immediately I knew my choice was wrong. Her face fell, and Manny's changed, but she eagerly agreed. My heart sunk as I walked away with Manny on my arm, leaving her, dressed up as Cindy Lauper on the dance floor.

Juniors shouldn't have been there.

Sid Vicious shouldn't like Cindy Lauper.

And Craig Manning shouldn't be emotionally attached to Emma Nelson.

Craig came home that night with a splitting headache. Not only was he emotionally messed up, but it was starting to feel as if he was physically messed up too. Luck was not on his side.

He opened the door leading into the house he shared with Joey, finding him dead asleep on the couch. Figures the one time he wants to talk to him about girl and life, he not there. His broad shoulders fell at the sight and he huffed up stairs to his room.

His room was a scattered mess, smelling of old laundry and rotting food. Typical of a teenager and a young musician. He sighed heavily at the mess and made his way to his bed, laying down slowly, fearing that it would somehow spontaneously combust under him. His day had gotten that bad that he feared that it might be possible.

Rolling over onto his stomach, he reached under his bed, pulling out a shoe box that one would suspect was full of nudy magazines. A grin erupted onto his face as he pulled out the contents with in the box, a scrap book. It was bound in white silk, decorated with sunflowers. The picture on the front cover, small and framed, showed a married couple, holding each other lovingly. The book itself seemed out of place within his room.

He opened the book slowly, not wanting to make the spine crease, and looked down at the first couple of pictures, them being ones of the bride and grooms families. Once again he turned the page, only to find more pictures of the wedding. Obviously not finding what he was looking for, he continued to flip throw the beautiful book till he found the photos taken at the reception.

And there it was.

Framed by yellow silk ribbon, a picture of him and Emma, slow dancing, something they should have been doing that night.

He smiled at the far away memory. She was wearing a white dress, decorated with pink flowers. She was beautiful, even at that young age. And he was right in front of her, wearing a light blue suit, because his dad had no sense of style. He looked like a moron, whose very presence next to her seemed rude.

But they were smiling at each other. Though they were "forced" to dance with each other, it had been one of the best dances in his life. They had talked to whole time, barely aware of their surroundings. That was, until the cake was brought out.

The page had been dedicated to them. The words "Young Love" written out in a silver calligraphy pen. It whole book was indeed beautiful, but this single page was ravishing. The detail, the design, and the picture. It was perfect.

In all the ways tonight wasn't.

Suddenly Craig was hit with all the pain he had been experiencing only ten minutes earlier. The headache and the ache in his chest came roaring back with a vengeance, all at the thought of his ruined night.

He looked down at the picture and knew. He needed to make things right with her.

Emma wasn't Cindy Lauper. And he wasn't Sid Vicious.

They belonged together.


	2. Chapter 2

Emma awoke to someone knocking on the front door. She got up hesitantly and looked around, apparently she was home alone, and now had to answer the door clad in only her pajamas. End to the weekend.

Emma had spent her whole weekend sulking the days away. Craig had broken her heart Friday night, and she felt justified for not wanting to see him, or Manny, for the next couple of days. To bad her weekend was almost up, and she would be forced to see them both on Monday all lovely dovey and such.

Sighing, she moved to the door, looking through the eye hole to make sure it wasn't a creep. No one was there. Great, she had gotten up for nothing. But still she felt compelled to open the door, and look around.

And there it was. A small yellow envelope, with silver calligraphy writing out her name. Her eyes widened as she read the front. Who would give her such a thing. The one guy she thought was interested wasn't, broke her heart, and now she had a secret admirior.

Sighing she picked up the note and made her way back into her room.

Little did she know her life was going in an unexpected direction.

Emma looked at the note for thirty minutes before actually doing anything with it. For all she knew it could have been from some creeper around the block, trying to get in her pants. But on the other hand, it could be from someone at school. Someone like Craig, or Sean. Either one really.

She felt completely moronic. Reading the letter wouldn't do anything right? She picked it up, and open it slowly. Her heart was racing as she pulled out a beautiful piece of white and yellow stationary. Unfolding it, she read the note carefully.

"My dearest Emma Nelson,

I wanted to tell you to suspect a little something on your doorstep letter. Don't worry it's a good something. Um yeah.

Your secret Admirer."

Her heart fluttered at the thought of this secret admirer. Though the letter was written sloppily, and it seemed unformal, nothing like what she thought a secret admirer letter should look like, she still found it amazingly sweet.

Emma placed the letter down on her desk gently, as if it was breakable. Then floated away to the showers. If her admirer was going to come again, then she would have to catch him. And look fantastic doing it.

Emma had just gotten out of the shower when the door bell rang. She had a quick mental breakdown before rushing to her closet and pulling out the first decent outfit she could find. Hoping her mystery man wouldn't leave, she rushed to check herself in the mirror, only to here the doorbell ring again.

She made a frantic dash up the stairs to the kitchen and let out a heavy sigh, preparing herself for either the best or the worst. She walked smoothly to the door, and opened it with a smile, once again to nothing.

Her eyes sunk to the ground in disappointment, till she saw another note.

"Look right.

Your secret admirer."

She moved outside just a step before she realized, a dress was hanging on the side of the door. It was beautiful, white with pink petals flowing throughout the dress. Truly an amazing dress, yet strikingly familiar.

She moved swiftly to take it down, and upon checking the tag, found it was perfectly her size. Her smile widened as she looked around once more, to make sure no one was lurking, then pranced inside.

Once in her room, she found a note attached to the inside of the dress. Her smile seemed to be craved into her face as she read.

"My love,

Please come to the Degrassi gym at 6. I have a surprise for you. Oh wear the dress.

You admirer."

Smiling she looked at the clock, only 3. She had three more hours to prepare for what might be the best date of her life. Or what could be the worst. But alas, she refused to think about that.

All Emma knew was that her prince charming came with a beautiful dress, and she wasn't going to miss this opportunity to meet him

And with that thought she went right to work.


	3. Chapter 3

5:45. 15 minutes till the fateful encounter. Emma sat on her bed and bit her lip as she looked at the clock again, willing it to change.

5:46. her eyes delighted at her new found talent. She continued to stare till she finally recognized she really hadn't done anything. She got up from her bed and walked to her full length mirror and stared at herself. She looked pretty good, she thought.

Her hair was up and curled. Some loose curls dangling around her face, framing it. Her dress fit perfectly, hugging her body until it got to her hips. Her heals were white, practically perfect for the dress. As she looked at herself, she felt a small feeling of dejevu. Something about this dress was familiar, she just couldn't name it.

She sat there for ten more minutes, staring curiously at the dress, till she realized the time. She had five minutes to get to Degrassi. Crap

&

Craig sighed and wiped the sweat of his brow. He had spent the whole day setting up the gym like the wedding reception where he and Emma first danced. He made sure everything was perfect, the color scheme, the tables; he even managed to get his hands on the soundtrack from the reception.

He backed up and looked at the gym. Everything was perfect. Smiling, he turned to look at the clock.

5:50.

Crap. He had 10 minutes to get into his suit. He ran to the bathroom and started to change.

He was going to make this night, one of the most memorable. Hopefully for a good reason.

&

Emma skidded to a halt outside of school. She took a moment to catch her breath before realizing that she probably broke a sweat. Crap, this wasn't going well. She sighed and took a deep breathe, before climbing the stairs to the front doors. She looked at herself in the glass, becoming distraught when she saw some of her hair had fallen out of place. She cursed mentally, and made her way inside.

She looked around the foyer a bit, hoping that some signs of her mystery man would show up, immediately reminding her of what had happen years before. She was immediately struck with fear, until she heard a familiar song start to play.

"Everyone has something they'll never give up…"

She smiled as she heard her father's and Joey's band song started to play. Suddenly filled with confidence, she strode to the gym, stopping for a brief moment before enter, to prepare herself for the unknown. She took another deep breathe, hoping that someone she liked would be behind this door, fearing that it would be Toby.

She entered silently, gasping as she stared. There were balloons everywhere, and a table set up at half court. Everything was perfect, even with the song playing, everything seemed like it was pulled out of a dream of her. She smiled and twirled, trying to take in the beauty of all of this. She failed to notice a young, curly haired teenager taking pictures of her while she did so.

Craig made his way out from the back of the bleachers and smiled, watching her twirl and dance, laughing like the nine year old girl he fell for. He let a small laugh out, and she immediately stopped, and turned around, hoping she didn't look stupid in front of her mystery man. Her eyes widen as she saw Craig, standing in a pale blue tuxedo with ruffles. He looked like a moron.

She made her way over to him, a grin playing on her glossed pink lips. "So you're my mystery man, Craig? Hard to believe, being that you picked Manny." Craig sighed and looked at her in the eyes.

"What would you say if I told you that I meant to pick you?" He quirked an eyebrow at her, knowing that that was one thing a lot of girls thought was very hot. She blushed, verifying that he was right in his assumption.

"Then why did you pick Manny…" Emma looked down at her shoes, fearing that he would cause her to blush again.

"I picked her, because… I got nervous, I thought you would say no, and I knew she would say yes… So I asked her…" He placed his hand under her chin and propped it up so she would look at him. The moment they made eye contact, he knew he was forgiven, and she knew that he was being honest.

She smiled wide, and hugged him. They stood there till Emma pulled away, and asked about the set up. He smiled and walked back to the bleachers, pulling out the scrapbook. He grabbed her tiny hand and they made their way over to the table set up in the middle of the gym. He smiled as he went over the pictures, showing her how he worked on the color scheme, and made sure that every detail was perfect.

In the middle of his explanation, he heard their song come on. He smiled, grabbing her hand, and slowly walked towards the free throw line. He wrapped his arms around her and started to slowly sway. She blushed, and realized that this was their song, from five years ago.

The rest of the night had been perfect. They talked to whole time, about his music and her clubs, never once running out of things to say to one another. He walked her home that night, walking up to the door step with her. As they stood at the door, she smiled and thanked him. He brushed her hair behind her ear, and leaned down to kiss her.

Both agreed that that had been one of the best, most romantic nights of their lives.

Emma walked into her house all smiles, not knowing that her friend had seen the whole thing.


	4. Chapter 4

Emma closed the door behind her, sighing lovingly and leaning against it. She had just had the best night ever, which she hoped would continue with the best nights sleep ever. She made her way towards the staircase to get ready for bed, when she heard an obviously fake cough coming from the living room. She turned her head, about to address her mother, and tell her about the night, when she saw her best friend, sitting on the couch, with tears in her eyes and flowers next to her.

"Emma Nelson," Manny began, "I came over here to apologize, and ask your permission to go after Craig. I waited for two hours for you to come home; I even bought you your favorite flowers. I waited and waited, and then when I finally hear you come home, you're with Craig?! MY CRAIG!" She was crying as she spoke, her voice cracking every so often. Never had Emma seen her life long friend so upset.

"Look Manny you don't understand-"

"No you don't understand, Emma! You don't understand what's it's liked to be betrayed by your best friend and the guy you liked!" You-you-you little WHORE!" Manny's words angered Emma quickly. How dare she say something like that! She was the one who had been betrayed only days early, by her best friend and the guy she liked. How dare Manny even say she didn't know what it was like? Emma stalked up to her friend, ready to explode.

"How dare you." Her words were slicked with venom, her eyes daring her to interrupt her. "How dare you even say- no think that I don't know what it's like! You were the one to go off with Craig at the dance, leaving me there, knowing how I felt about him! I didn't intentionally steal him from you! He wrote to me, sent me secret admirer notes all day! If I had known, I probably wouldn't have gone! You know why? Because you're my friend, and I would never intentionally hurt you! Not like you had hurt me!" Emma finished and turned on her heal, running to the staircase that led to the basement.

Manny stood there dumbfounded. Emma had never yelled, she only did so on occasion, but usually never in anger. She slowly sat back down, onto the couch and thought about what she had just heard. She knew what she had done was bad, but… Tears made there way down her face as she thought back to what she had said to her now ex best friend. She didn't mean to call her a whore, but she knew she couldn't take it back. All she really wanted was for Emma to be hurt as bad as she was, but now, now she was the one who was hurt.

Manny crept out of the house silently, leaving behind the flowers she had gotten for Emma, hoping they would work their magic, this time, for a whole new problem.

.

Emma groaned as she got up for school the next morning. Of course she looked forward to seeing Craig again, being that now she hoped he would consider being her boyfriend, but she dreaded seeing Manny. Too bad she had all her classes with the one she hated, and none with the one she loved. She showered quickly, and dressed, making sure she looked cute. Her mother stopped her right before she left, offering her toast and a hug before she was off again.

She walked into school, a small smile on her face, and then set out to find Craig. After ten minutes of looking she gave up, only to run into Sean, literally. She fell to the ground, groaning as she sat in the middle of school. He smiled at her quickly before helping her up, making sure she was alright. She smiled at him, thanking him for being so nice to her. She was about to leave before he offered to walk her to class, she turned, smiling, and accepted, completely forgetting about the man she had been looking for.

They walked together all the way to class, laughing and catching up on old times. He smiled as she brought up their first date, and how she had been pooped on. He laughed and looked at her. She hardly noticed that they were at their classroom. She looked right back at him, smiling. She was suddenly reminded of her old feelings for him, and forgot all about why they had broken up. They simply stood there, outside of their classroom, looking at each other, until a very concerned and sorry Manny interrupted them, pulling Emma away to talk to her.

Manny pulled a protesting Emma into the library and sat her down. She looked at her friend and sighed, before asking for her forgiveness. "Emma, I said a lot of things last night. A lot of unforgivable things that I didn't mean. I wouldn't be surprised if you said you never wanted to see me again. I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry, and I give you permission to be with Craig."

Emma's eye widened as she heard her friend say Craig's forgotten name. Emma looked at her friend with wide, nervous eyes. "Manny, I forgive you. But now I think I have a much bigger problem then Craig…" Emma had never felt so stupid in her life, after five minutes of talking with her ex boyfriend, she somehow forgotten about the guy she liked. She was starting to regain feelings for her ex while gaining another mans heart.

Manny looked at her friend suspiciously, wondering if she was about to walk into a trap. "Manny, I think I like Sean…again." Manny eyes widened and she stood up and started to pace. Emma put her head in her hands and muttered incoherently, about hating all men and swearing them off. The short brunette stopped mid pace and turned back to her friend.

"If you choose Sean, can I have Craig?"


End file.
